Soil compaction and floatation have always been important issues for farmers operating tractors and other farming vehicles in their fields. It has thus been found advantageous to replace two or even all four wheels of a farming tractor with track systems which use endless traction bands instead of wheels for propulsion.
Using track systems instead of wheels brings several advantages when operated on soft terrains. The larger surface area of the traction bands improves the floatation and reduces soil compaction. The configuration of the track systems also generally improves the overall traction of the tractor.
However, tractors are still typically sold with wheels and are typically configured to be operated with wheels. Hence, when an operator wants to replace the wheels of its tractor with track systems, the track systems must be properly fitted to the model of tractor of the operator. However, as track systems are typically aftermarket products, track system manufacturers must generally manufacture attachment brackets made specifically for each model of tractors, or more generally, for each model of vehicles, to which the track systems can be installed. However, having to manufacture specific attachment brackets for each model of tractors can be quite expensive.
Furthermore, tractors are typically not configured to be equipped with track systems. Hence, mounting track systems to a tractor generally necessitates the attachment of the track systems to the tractor at locations which, in some case, were not initially designed to support and sustain the additional load and strain imparted by the track systems during use.
This is true of track systems installed as replacement of steerable wheels, typically the front wheels, since the track systems need to remain steerable. Hence, the installation generally involves the attachment of the track systems to or near the steering knuckles (e.g. to the wheel hubs, to the bolts holding the kingpin, etc.).
However, as the steering knuckles of a tractor are generally not made nor configured to support track systems, these installations may, in some cases, cause premature wearing of steering components of the tractor or even premature failure of those components. These installations can also cause premature wearing of components of the track systems (i.e. the traction band, road wheels, idler wheels, etc.) due, for instance, to misalignment between the track systems and the vehicle.
Hence, despite the advantages of using track systems on farming tractors and other vehicles, there are still some shortcomings that need to be addressed.